Almond Soup
Recipe from the book "The First Ukrainian Everyday Cookbook" (1-ша українська загально-практична кухня), 1929, by Olha Franko.
Almond soup has been unjustly forgotten for more than 100 years. It is difficult to say in which country this cream soup was first prepared, but we observe that at roughly the same time, at Christmas, an almond cream soup was made as a symbol of prosperity and well-being.
In Spain, renowned for its almond tree plantations, this sweet soup was already being prepared for Christmas and major holidays as early as 1858. In Poland, among the wealthiest families, this soup also graced the Christmas table. In 1906, the nobleman Aleksander Jelowski wrote: "Christmas — on the table covered with hay lies a snow-white tablecloth, upon which, in silver stands, rests the almond soup."
In Hong Kong, almond soup is often served at the end of dinner. It is made with both sweet and bitter almonds.
Serves two:
Ingredients
- 150g blanched almonds*
- 400ml water
- 400ml milk
- 40g rice* (soaked in water for 1 hour)
- 40g sugar
- 1 egg white
- raisins
- cinnamon
Preparation
- Blend the rice, almonds, water and milk in a blender.
- Strain through a sieve.
- Add the sugar and cook, stirring, for 20 minutes.
- Pour in the egg white while stirring vigorously.
- Add raisins, cinnamon or vanilla to taste.
- The remaining almond pulp can be used to make an almond paste:
- Prepare a syrup with 100g water and 100g sugar.
- Add the almonds. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
риж — rice (archaic Ukrainian spelling)
мікдали — almonds (archaic Ukrainian spelling)